Local Containment Boom and Standoff (Enviro Boom)

ABSTRACT

A Local Containment Boom and Standoff or Enviro Boom® is described in three embodiments all of which are immediately deployable: Boom Arms, a Dual Pole Standoff, and Dual Chamber Boom Arms. The Boom Arms comprise buoyant material covered with impermeable material with rigid sealed poles inside the Boom Arms. The Dual Chamber Boom Arms have an upper chamber for flotation material and lower chamber for water ballast. Both types of Boom Arms sit partially submerged to block oil from passing both over and under the Boom Arm. Boom Arms are immediately deployable for booming operations, pre-booming operations and quick response spill containment. Structure positioning magnets attach the Boom Arms, Dual Pole Standoffs or Dual Chamber Boom Arms to an aquatic structure. The Dual Pole Standoff comprises sealed poles with structure positioning magnets to stand off other booms, including traditional booms, from an aquatic structure.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This continuation-in-part application claims benefit under 35 USC 120 of commonly invented and copending, U.S. nonprovisional utility patent application Ser. No. 12/137,182, filed Jun. 11, 2008, named Containment Boom and Standoff, incorporated by reference in its entirety and claims benefit of commonly invented and copending PCT/US2009/045099 filed May 23, 2009.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART

The field of the invention is Hydraulic Engineering. This invention enhances the quality of the environment by reducing floating oil spill damage to water and reducing harm to the local ecology.

PATENT DOCUMENT COMPARISON

Pliable closed cell material in sections has been used for flotation and containment purposes in containment booms for oil spill containment in various prior art devices. Bell et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,616A discloses a plurality of foam sections that are linked together and stacked when necessary for additional height purposes. The sections, once assembled are dragged or towed to a desired location and weighted and anchored in place around a ship for booming or pre-booming operations.

Nielson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,532 discloses the use of a free floating or anchored fender (or standoff) for providing a space between a containment boom and a vessel. Normal use would be with a boom rigged entirely around the ship with a number of the fenders of different sizes and shapes being required all the way around the ship. The number of fenders required depends on individual operational conditions such, for example, as current speed and direction, boom rigidity, boom tension and vessel length. This fender uses tension cables to build open planar structure and ternary structural systems. In order to effectively fender off an area such as a ship, each section of the ship must be analyzed for the dominant shape/feature of that part of the ship and the appropriate fender built for that section of the ship using calculations to determine the number and types of devices required.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is an immediately deployable Local Containment Boom and Standoff. Several vital environmental quality objectives are met by having an immediately deployable Local Containment Boom and Standoff:

-   -   Less water is exposed to the dangers of a spill because a         smaller area is contained and it is contained faster;     -   Less people with less training and less cost of ownership are         needed to deploy a Local Containment Boom and Standoff making it         more likely to be purchased and more likely to be used and used         properly;     -   Less cost and less downtime are achieved because the Local         Containment Boom can be set up in a smaller area, repositioned         quickly when necessary and removed in less time, causing less         total downtime for the vessel operations.

In order to claim the benefits of the invention, the following definitions should be applied to the invention and the use of the invention: We use the terms ‘Local Containment Boom and Standoff’ or ‘Local Containment Boom’ (also known as Enviro Boom, a registered trademark of Skyler Enterprises) to describe a new specific type of booming and standoff assembly where Boom Arms (see definition below) are secured in a ‘Local Containment Area’ (see definition below) rather than surrounding a ship. Boom Arms are inherently also standoff devices and do not require anchors or weights to hold them in place.

We use the term ‘Local Containment Area’ to mean′ an area to be pre-boomed in the immediate vicinity surrounding a fueling operation, ballast water discharge, or other ship operation that generally but not necessarily includes the side of the aquatic structure as part of the containment area. ‘Local Containment Area’ also refers to the area where emergency booming using the Local Containment Boom takes place. In an emergency, the immediately area of an actual spill or leak where pre-booming did not take place (such as at sea) can be quickly boomed by the Local Containment Boom where time is of the essence for limiting the spread of the damage from the spill or leak to the smallest area possible (local containment). A spill recovery kit containing the Local Containment Boom can be stored on board a ship and is available for immediate deployment rather than having a spill spread during the time to deliver and set up a traditional booming device.

We use the term ‘Boom Arm’ to describe a one arm of a dual Boom Arm assembly and ‘Boom Arms’ to describe a two Boom Arms or multiple Boom Arms used together. Boom Arms are inherently also standoff devices and do not require anchors or weights to hold them in place. We use the term Dual Pole Standoff to refer to one of the embodiments of the Local Containment Boom and Standoff where booming is being accomplished by some other means and the Dual Pole Standoff is being used as a standoff only.

We use the term ‘Immediately Deployable’ to refer to several aspects of the ease of using the Boom Arms and Dual Pole Standoffs and to the short amount of time (just a few minutes) needed to configure the Local Containment Area. One aspect of the ease of use is that few configuration skills are required to place the Local Containment Boom in the needed vicinity—just drop it in the water and connect it to the ship or other aquatic structure in a shape such as a triangle or square suitable to contain any spills or potential spills in the immediate vicinity of the operation using the Structure Positioning Magnets (see definition below) to hold the Boom Arms or Dual Pole Standoff against the aquatic structure. The Boom Arms and Dual Pole Standoffs are immediately deployable because they are small and lightweight compared to traditional booms and can be stored close to where they are needed such as on board a ship, in a service boat, or in a docking area and taken out of storage and put into service in minutes. Boom Arms are immediately deployable because one person can handle their small size (5 to 30 feet in length for one arm) and light weight (50-100 lbs. per dual Boom Arm configuration) and because the self-contained buoyancy and self-righting capabilities require no extra equipment for inflation and no weights or anchors are required. Immediately Deployable also refers to being able to lower the Boom Arms from the deck of a ship with lines into the water and using lines to position the Local Containment Boom in place for emergency operations to quickly contain spills that have already occurred without the use of extra personnel or an extra vessel to deploy the boom.

We define ‘Structure Positioning Magnets’ as the magnets that hold the Local Containment Boom against the ship or other aquatic structure without the structure having to contain any permanent or semi-permanent fixtures to hold the magnets and Boom Arms or Dual Pole Standoffs in place. One example of a structure positioning magnet is a 12 lb. magnet that has 600 lb. pull strength that is attached with mechanical connectors to each end of the Boom Arms or Dual Pole Standoff and the magnets attached to the ship or other aquatic structure. These structure positioning magnets can be moved vertically or horizontally along the side of the ship by a person in a service boat or by lines from the deck of the ship and adjusted as the ship rises and falls with the change in load that occurs with refueling operations or ballast adjustments or to adjust for weather or current changes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a pair of Boom Arms.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a Boom Arm with sealed poles in the sealed compartments.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of the back side (faces open water) of a Boom Arm.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the back side (faces open water) of Boom Arms.

FIG. 5 shows a front perspective view of one embodiment of a structure positioning magnet.

FIG. 6 shows a top view of Boom Arms with a structure positioning magnet attaching the assembly directly to an aquatic structure.

FIG. 7 is the Dual Pole Standoff with Structure Positioning Magnets at both distal ends.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a ship or other aquatic structure with multiple Boom Arms acting as standoffs for a conventional boom.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a ship or other aquatic structure with multiple Boom Arms acting as two sides of a triangular as standoffs for a conventional boom.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a ship or other aquatic structure with a plurality of Boom Arms connected together being used as a local containment boom.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view ship or other aquatic structure with Boom Arms being used as a local containment boom.

FIG. 12 is the Dual Chamber Boom Arm perspective view.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the Dual Chamber Boom Arm with Flotation Material in the upper flotation chamber and water being used as ballast in the Ballast Chamber.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the either the distal or proximal end of a Dual Chamber Boom Arm.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a Detachable Magnetic Flap Pocket Assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the Local Containment Boom and Standoff, is the use of Boom Arms for pre-booming (containing potential floating oil spills) around an oil transfer operation or other potential spill operation or as part of an emergency response spill recovery kit. The Boom Arms act as their own standoff in this embodiment. Boom Arms are made of any suitable material such as four pound closed cell polyethylene foam where the Boom Arms are covered with a protective waterproof and oil impermeable material and this cover may also be used to connect between Boom Arms. The covering used may be one of the heavy duty vinyl materials that are specially formulated for booming or other suitable materials. Boom Arms fold together for storage and unfold for immediate deployment. Sealed poles inside the buoyant Boom Arms provide rigidity and keep the assembly upright in the water. The assembly has sufficient buoyancy during deployment in water so the top of the assembly will float high enough in water to block the passage of a floating oil spill over the top and a bottom of the assembly sitting low enough below the waterline to prevent a floating oil spill from going underneath. The invention self-rights itself when properly configured. Elements of the protective cover seal the assembly to the aquatic structure or seal the minimum number of assemblies together to contain a floating oil spill in a local area. Mechanical connectors on both ends of both sealed poles provide attachment means to other devices such as the structure positioning magnets which attach the assembly to an aquatic structure. These structure positioning magnets allow the assembly to be quickly placed where it is needed rather than having to encircle the entire ship like a conventional boom. Structure positioning magnets may be replaced by mechanical connectors when multiple Boom Arms are desired to form larger Local Containment Areas or other geometrical shapes of Local Containment Areas. Other devices such as a current vane, a wind vane and a strobe light can be attached to the mechanical connectors to make monitoring the booming operation easier. This embodiment can also be used as a standoff device to keep other containment booms at a sufficient distance from an aquatic structure during an oil transfer operation or after an accidental spill from other operations.

Another embodiment of The Local Containment Boom and Standoff is a Dual Pole Standoff (or fender) to stand off a separate containment boom a sufficient distance from an aquatic structure during an oil transfer operation or after an accidental spill from other operations. This embodiment does not act as its own boom (standoff only). Dual Pole Standoffs are pairs of buoyant sealed poles with mechanical connectors on both ends of both sealed poles that provide attachment means to other devices such as structure positioning magnets that attach the assembly to an aquatic structure with the sealed poles as two sides of a triangle using the aquatic structure as the third side. These structure positioning magnets allow the assembly to be quickly placed and held where it is needed rather than employing anchors, lines, cables or other devices like the prior art or rather than allowing the standoff to free float.

Another embodiment is Dual Chamber Boom Arms that use an upper chamber pre-filled with flotation material such as protectively wrapped closed cell polyethylene foam to keep the boom afloat and upright and a rigid lower chamber that uses ambient water as ballast to restrict the movement of the boom in the water making it more effective for resisting currents, wind, waves and other forces present at the surface of the water and just below the surface of the water. This embodiment acts as its own standoff. This embodiment is an assembly with a pair of Dual Chamber Boom Arms with mechanical connectors on both ends of both assemblies that provide an attachment means to other devices such as structure positioning magnets that attach the assembly to an aquatic structure. The rigidity of the ballast chambers allows the assemblies to act as two sides of a triangle using the aquatic structure as the third side. Other geometric configurations may also be used. These structure positioning magnets allow the assembly to be quickly placed and held where it is needed rather than employing anchors, lines, cables or other devices like the prior art or rather than allowing the standoff to free float as some of the prior art. The assembly has sufficient buoyancy during deployment in water so the top of the assembly will float high enough in water to block the passage of a floating oil spill over the top and a bottom of the assembly sitting low enough below the waterline to prevent a floating oil spill from going underneath. The assembly self-rights itself when configured properly. Elements of the protective cover seal the assembly to the aquatic structure or seal a minimal number of assemblies together to contain a floating oil spill in a local containment area or a higher number of assemblies together to use as a convention boom is used in a non-local area.

Optional features include attachable wind and current vanes to allow operators to monitor conditions in the containment area so that necessary adjustments can be made in a timely manner. An optional strobe light assists night crews in maintaining visual contact with the containment system.

Now referring to FIGS. 1-15 containing the best mode of the invention, wherein like numbers refer to like elements in the various views, FIG. 1 is perspective view of a Boom Arms 20. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the Boom Arms 20 comprises a pair of buoyant Boom Arm 24 covered on all sides with a protective cover 29. The buoyant Boom Arm 24 has a bore 32 running lengthwise through the buoyant Boom Arm 24 located below a centerline 27 of the buoyant Boom Arm 24. A sealed pole 40 is contained inside the bore 32. Boom Arms 20 have a top 28, a front side 25 (usually faces floating oil spill), a back side 26 (usually faces open water), and a bottom 30. The back side 26 has a plurality of linking magnets 34 for holding the Boom Arms 20 folded in half lengthwise during storage, deployment and during use as a standoff.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional lengthwise view of the Boom Arms 20. A sealed pole end 46 is connected to a mechanical connector 36 at each of the two sealed pole ends 46. The mechanical connectors 36 at each of the sealed pole ends 46 extend past the protective cover 29 at both a proximal sealed pole ends 39 and a distal sealed pole ends 41 (see FIG. 4). At the proximal sealed pole ends 39, the protective cover 29 is a flat section 31 which covers the front 25 of the Boom Arms 20 while leaving the back side 26 of the Boom Arms 20 open to leave access to the mechanical connectors 36 and to make the Boom Arms 20 easier to fold.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the back side 26 of the Boom Arms 20. A plurality of linking magnets 34 are configured to match the other linking magnets 34 when the Boom Arms 20 is folded in half lengthwise. The protective cover 29 extends beyond the distal ends 41 to form a protective flap 21. A flap magnet 23 is mechanically connected to the protective flap 21.

As shown in FIG. 6, the protective flap 21 folds back toward the front side 25 of the Boom Arms 20 so that a structure positioning magnet 42, (see FIG. 5 and FIG. 6), is protected from the floating oil spill 74 and so that the Boom Arms 20 fits tightly against the aquatic structure 70 as shown in the top view in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 7, a Dual Pole Standoff 43 comprising of the pair of sealed poles 40 each with the pair of mechanical connectors 36 (at each end) connected together at the sealed pole proximal ends 39 with the pair of structure positioning magnets 42 attached with the pair of magnet connectors 44 at both the distal ends 41 of the sealed poles using the mechanical connectors 36. The Dual Pole Standoff 43 acts as a standoff at an aquatic structure 70 attached at the waterline 72 in conjunction with a conventional boom 76 as shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 show an application where either the Boom Arms 20 (shown) or the Dual Pole Standoff 43 can be deployed with the conventional boom 76. In any application, a plurality of the Boom Arms 20 can replace the conventional boom 76.

FIG. 8 shows multiples of the Boom Arms 20 acting as standoffs for the conventional boom 76. The Boom Arms 20 are connected at the structure using the structure positioning magnets 42 (hidden from sight by the protective flap 21) or other suitable interface. The Dual Pole Standoff 43 could be substituted for the Boom Arms 20 since the application is for a standoff, however if the Boom Arms 20 were used here, the floating oil spill 74 could be locally contained rather than spread all the way around the ship or other structure 70.

FIG. 9 shows multiples of the Boom Arms 20 acting as standoffs for the conventional boom 76 providing two sides of a triangle with the structure 70 acting as the third side of the triangle. The Boom Arms 20 are connected at the structure using the structure positioning magnets 42 (hidden from view) or other suitable interface. The Dual Pole Standoff 43 could be substituted for the Boom Arms 20 since the application is for a standoff, however if the Boom Arms 20 were used here, the floating oil spill 74 could be locally contained rather than spread all the way around the ship or other structure 70.

FIG. 10 shows a plurality of the Boom Arms 20 connected together with mechanical connectors 36 between the Boom Arms 20 and the plurality of Boom Arms 20 connected to the aquatic structure 70 with the structure positioning magnets 42. The protective flap 21 protects the structure positioning magnets from the floating oil spill 74. The floating oil spill 74 is locally contained in the local area requiring a minimal use of the containment boom.

FIG. 11 shows one of the Boom Arms 20 functioning as the local containment boom, providing two sides of the triangle with the structure 70 acting as the third side of the triangle. The Boom Arms 20 are connected at the structure using the structure positioning magnets 42 or other suitable interface. FIG. 11 shows the Boom Arms 20 being used as the local containment boom for the floating oil spill 74. Because of the compact design of the Boom Arms 20 and fast deployment, the area affected by the floating oil spill 74 can be kept local.

Now referring to FIG. 12-FIG. 15, the third embodiment, the Dual Chamber Boom Arms 80 is shown. FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the Dual Chamber Boom Arms. The Dual Chamber Boom Arms 80 comprises a pair of Dual Chamber Boom Arms 82 that are covered on all sides (except the Ballast Chamber openings 100) with a protective cover 29. The Dual Chamber Boom Arms 80 have a front side 25 (usually faces floating oil spill), a back side 26 (usually faces open water), a top 83 and a bottom 85. A slide assembly 106 attaches a Detachable Magnetic Flap Pocket Assembly 120 to the proximal end of Flotation Water Ballast Assembly. The Chamber Boom Arms have an upper sealed Flotation Chamber 84, a lower Ballast Chamber 88, and a plurality of Ballast Chamber openings 100. The Ballast Chamber Openings 100 may be covered with a Ballast Chamber Door 90. The back side 26 has a plurality of linking magnets 34 for holding the Dual Chamber Boom Arms 20 folded in half lengthwise during storage, deployment and during use as a standoff.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of the Dual Chamber Boom Arms 82 with Flotation Material 86 in the upper Flotation Chamber 84 and Water 98 being used as ballast in the Ballast Chamber 88.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the Proximal End 89 of Dual Chamber Boom Arms 82. A Protective Cover Endpiece 33 covers and seals the Flotation Material 86 (hidden from sight behind the Protective Cover Endpiece 33) inside the Flotation Chamber 84 (see FIG. 13). Filtering Material 96 allows water 98 to move in and out of the Ballast Chamber Opening 100 freely while stopping debris from going inside the Ballast Chamber 88. Slide connectors 106 on both sides of the Dual Chamber Boom Arms allow the Detachable Magnetic Flap Pocket Assembly 120 (see FIG. 15) to be attached on the front side 25 or the back side 26 of the Chamber Boom Arms 82 (see FIG. 12).

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a Detachable Magnetic Flap Pocket Assembly (“magnet assembly”) 120. The magnet assembly 120 has a Magnet 128 inside the pocket that is made up of the Open Side Securing Material 126 and the Closed Side Securing Material 124. Slide Connectors 106 allow the magnet assembly 120 to be easily attached to the Proximal End 89 or the distal end of the Chamber Boom Arms. Variable strengths of magnets 128 may be used for different applications depending on the strength needed to hold the lengths of Containment Boom and Standoff in place on the aquatic structure.

The above disclosure is sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention, and provides the best mode of practicing the invention presently contemplated by the inventor. While there is provided herein a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of this invention, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction, dimensional relationships, and operation shown and described. Various modifications, alternative constructions, changes and equivalents will readily occur to those skilled in the art and may be employed, as suitable, without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Such changes might involve alternative materials, components, structural arrangements, sizes, shapes, forms, functions, operational features or the like. 

1. A Local Containment Boom and Standoff, embodied in Boom Arms comprising: a pair of connected buoyant Boom Arm sealed from the environment where the Boom Arm is formed of any suitable buoyant material where the buoyancy is not obtained by inflation or filling with any temporary material and a bore formed in the buoyant Boom Arm below a centerline of the buoyant Boom Arm with the bore of sufficient diameter to receive a pair of rigid poles, sealed from receiving water or oil, to be contained inside the bore of the buoyant Boom Arm where the sealed poles function to add strength and stiffness to the buoyant Boom Arm and to add weight to the buoyant Boom Arm to keep the buoyant Boom Arm upright in the water where the sealed pole can be formed of any metal, plastic, wood or other material of sufficient strength, buoyancy, and rigidity and sealed at the ends using any means employed by those skilled in the art; a plurality of linking magnets in mechanical connection with the back side of a Boom Arm protective cover that allows the assembly to magnetically attach folded together to store folded when not in use and to hold together during deployment and after deployment if desired, and a pair of structure positioning magnets with the associated magnet connectors where no associated base member is required to be permanently or semi-permanently attached to the aquatic structure where the structure positioning magnets hold the Boom Arms at a changing waterline of an aquatic structure where the Boom Arms forms two sides of a triangle when in the operating state with the third side of the triangle formed by the aquatic structure to provide a flexible local containment area at a spill site or a potential spill site where the Boom Arms are immediately deployable, where the Boom Arms do not surround an entire aquatic structure but only the local containment area, where the Boom Arms can be easily repositioned to allow for the changing waterline of the aquatic structure and changing needs of the containment area.
 2. The Local Containment Boom and Standoff of claim 1, wherein multiple Boom Arms are used to form a local containment area where structure positioning magnets are used at the interface to the aquatic structure and the structure positioning magnets between Boom Arms are replaced with mechanical connectors so a non-triangular geometric containment area is formed with triangular cones or poles used to maintain a fixed angle between the Boom Arms.
 3. A Dual Pole Standoff Assembly that is immediately deployable comprising: a pair of sealed poles wherein the sealed poles are be filled with a buoyant material, and each one of the sealed poles has a proximal end and a distal end, and a pair of mechanical connectors at each end of the pair of sealed poles wherein the pair of sealed poles are connected at the proximal ends with a plurality of mechanical connectors, and a pair of structure positioning magnets with the associated magnet connectors where no associated base member is required to be permanently or semi-permanently attached to the aquatic structure where the structure positioning magnets hold the Dual Pole Standoff to form sides of a geometric shape such as a triangle with one side of the geometric shape formed by the aquatic structure to provide a flexible local containment area at a spill site or a potential spill site where the Dual Pole Standoff is immediately deployable, where the Dual Pole Standoffs do not surround an entire aquatic structure but only the local area containment area, where the Dual Pole Standoffs can be repositioned to allow for the changing waterline of the aquatic structure and changing needs of the containment area.
 4. A Local Containment Boom and Standoff, embodied in A Dual Chamber Boom Arms comprising: a pair of rigid Dual Chamber Boom Arms that are immediately deployable wherein a sealed upper Flotation Chamber is filled with a flotation material and a lower hollow Ballast Chamber to be filled with ambient water, and a plurality of Ballast Chamber Openings to allow ambient water to move in and out of the Ballast Chamber when the device is deployed in water and to allow the Ballast Chamber to be used as a storage area, a plurality of linking magnets in mechanical connection with a Dual Chamber Boom Arms back side protective cover that allows the assembly to magnetically attach folded together to store efficiently when not in use and to hold together during deployment and after deployment if desired, and a pair of structure positioning magnets with the associated magnet connectors where no associated base member is required to be permanently or semi-permanently attached to the aquatic structure where the structure positioning magnets hold the Dual Chamber Boom Arms at a changing waterline of an aquatic structure where the Dual Chamber Boom Arms forms two sides of a geometric shape (or more sides with multiple Dual Chamber Boom Arms) when in the operating state with one side of the geometric shape formed by the aquatic structure to provide a flexible local containment area at a spill site or a potential spill site where the Dual Chamber Boom Arms do not surround an entire aquatic structure but only the local area containment area, where the Dual Chamber Boom Arms can be repositioned to allow for the changing waterline of the aquatic structure and changing needs of the local containment area. 